UK malaria cases 'up 30 per cent'

The number of UK residents who catch malaria while overseas has risen by nearly 30 per cent over the past two years, new figures show.

A report from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) reveals that 1,761 cases were reported in the UK in 2010, up from 1,370 in 2008.

More than half of cases of the disease during the last ten years have occurred in people who had recently visited west Africa or south Asia.

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HPA experts have issued a warning to travellers, in particular those who visit family and friends in nations where malaria is common.

Professor Peter Chiodini, head of the HPA's malaria reference laboratory, said: 'Even people living in Britain visiting the country in which they were born or grew up, or have previously visited, are not immune from malaria and should take precautions.'

The figures were published to mark World Malaria Day (April 25th), which was first established in 2007 to recognise the global effort to control the disease.

According to the World Health Organisation, about 250 million people are affected by malaria each year and nearly 800,000 people die from the disease.

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